


Blast to the Past: A Ghostbusters Fanfiction

by Alicorn8210



Category: Ghostbusters (1984)
Genre: A character important to the main character dies, Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, An F-bomb is dropped, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst due to Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Character Death, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Child Abuse, Child Death, Childhood, Childhood Trauma, Comfort/Angst, Complete, Cousins, Domestic Violence, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Foster Care, Gen, Heavy Angst, High School, High School Drama, High school girlfriend, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mistaken Affair, Misunderstandings, Mourning a Loved One's Passing, Offscreen character death, Parent Death, Parent-Child Relationship, Physical Abuse, Sadness, Teen Angst, That's the only reason why it's rated Teen and Up, Tragedy, chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23990653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alicorn8210/pseuds/Alicorn8210
Summary: We all love the Ghostbusters. That much is clear. But have you ever stopped to wonder how they got here? Their stories are not known by many a fan. You want someone to tell you about them? Well...I can.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 10





	1. Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little background on Ray, sometimes called the "heart and soul" of the Ghostbusters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is about the childhoods of the Ghostbusters, and how their experiences as children made them the men we see them as today. This first chapter is on everyone’s favorite cinnamon roll, Ray.
> 
> And you better buckle up, ‘cause this one is a bumpy ride.
> 
> Finally, if any of y’all got the pun in the title right away, you get a cookie.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hey there, kids! I’m the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and YOU’RE watching _Stay Puft TV_!” A chorus of kids joined him on “Stay Puft TV”.

“Remember, kids-eat lots of Stay Puft marshmallows! They stay puffier for longer!” The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man smiled after reciting the slogan. “And, if you eat 1,000 Stay Puft marshmallows in one sitting, you might just summon ME!” The mammoth, marshmallowy monster laughed wholeheartedly with delight as a commercial break came on.

The young boy in front of the small TV whipped his head around to look at his mother in the kitchen cooking dinner.

“Mom?” he asked.

“No, Ray,” his mother replied, knowing what her 8-year-old son was about to ask. “You are not going to eat 1,000 marshmallows in one sitting. It’s not healthy!”

“But MOOOOOOM!” Ray whined. “I wanna summon the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!”

More than anything, Serene Stantz wanted to say, “Honey, you know as well as I do that isn’t how it works-heck, he’s not even REAL!”, but she didn’t want to crush her son’s hopes and dreams. After all, Ray LOVED the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

So instead, she said, “I’m sure you can summon him another way. You’re a smart boy-you’ll figure it out,”

And, well, she wasn’t lying about that last part. Ray was considered “precocious” by most of the adults in his life, due to his eagerness to learn and his vast array of knowledge at such a young age. His curious and affable nature made him the center of attention at family gatherings, with Serene and Edward Stantz constantly getting comments of, “Your son is adorable,” or, “Can I have your son, please?”

Speaking of which, mere seconds after Serene said that, Edward, Ray’s father, came through the door.

“Welcome home, dear,” Serene said, walking over to her husband and planting a kiss on his cheek. “You’re home later than usual,”

“Sorry about that, dear, but I wasn’t far! I was exploring the old abandoned log cabin by the pond in the woods,” Edward seemed excited as he recalled the day’s activities.

“Let me guess-hunting for ghosts?” Serene cocked an eyebrow at her husband.

“Bingo,” Edward smiled. He kissed the top of Serene’s head. She giggled before kissing him right back.

“Hey, Dad!” Ray called out, going to hug his father. “Tell me what you did today! Tell me! Tell me!”

Edward began to walk over to the living room where Ray had been sitting, but Serene grabbed his arm, non-verbally asking him to talk with her for a second.

“Coming, Ray!” Edward called out. He turned around to face Serene. “What is it, dear? I don’t want to keep Ray waiting,”

“I know, but…” Serene began, before glancing off to the side for a second. “You DID actually go to work today, right? Like...your REAL job?”

“Of course, sweetie,” Edward reassured. “We’ve been over this-I don’t skip work. Not anymore,”

“Good,” Serene replied. “I just...don’t wanna get any more calls from Schwartz’ secretary,” Her eyebrows furrowed slightly with frustration. “She’s a REALLY nasty lady, anyway!”

“Don’t worry,” Edward comforted in his usual pleasant manner. “You won’t have to deal with her anymore,”

Finally, Edward made his way over to Ray, who was eagerly jumping up and down on his spot on the carpet of the living room, waiting for his father to tell him of the day’s exploits.

“So, let me tell you what happened today,” Edward began. “Well, when I entered the cabin, it was very quiet,” He paused for suspense. “TOO quiet. So I knew something was up, but I didn’t know exactly WHAT. Then…” Another pause for suspense. “The ground began to SHAKE! VIOLENTLY! And then...the fireplace LIT UP ALL BY ITSELF! So I KNEW it was a strong supernatural entity. The type, I still wasn’t quite sure of yet,”

“And when you found it?” Ray asked eagerly. “What was it?”

“Why, nothing sort of a Class V free-roaming vaporous entity!” Edward was hamming it up now.

“OOOH!” Ray cooed with excitement. “That sounds SOOO cool! What does THAT mean?!”

“Well, it’s EXACTLY what it sounds like!”

As Edward continued to explain, Ray continued to listen, his mind void of anything but what his father was telling him. It was like his brain was trying to calculate and compute all the information he was being given. It was like he was a sponge, soaking up everything ghost-related, constantly wanting more…

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 6 years later on a Friday afternoon.

Ray, now 14, was in the living room, reading a copy of _Tobin’s Spirit Guide_ his father had gotten him for his 14th birthday. It had been his favorite birthday gift ever.

His mom was also in the living room, reading a women’s magazine. She got most of her good recipes from it.

Suddenly, the door knocked.

Ray, rightfully assuming that it was his father, rushed to get the door.

He opened the door to reveal both his father…

And his cousin.

“JIMMY!” Ray exclaimed, happily hugging his beloved cousin. “Hey, dude! Wha-what are you doing here?!”

“It’s my parents’ anniversary this week-they’re going to Ireland,” Jimmy explained with a smile on his face. “So they decided to drop me off here for the week!”

“That’s AWESOME!” Ray was so excited, he thought he was gonna burst. “OH, and guess what? For my birthday, Dad got me a copy of _TOBIN’S SPIRIT GUIDE_!”

“ **DUDE**!” Jimmy exclaimed, being just as interested in ghosts as Ray was. “That’s AMAZING! Show me!”

Ray was so excited to show Jimmy his gift that he didn’t even notice that his dad walked through the door.

“Hey, Ray!” Edward called out to his son.

Ray, hearing the familiar voice, looked up. “Oh-hey, Dad!” he replied, not getting up to hug him, as he was too engrossed in his book.

Edward looked at the two boys and chuckled softly. It reminded him of how he had bonded over ghosts with his brother (Jimmy’s dad and Ray’s uncle) when they were the boys’ age. Nowadays, Joseph Stantz wasn’t as into ghosts as Edward was, and didn’t pursue them in any way, but he DID still pass on at least SOME knowledge to his son Jimmy, which caused him to gain the same fiery passion for ghosts as Ray.

“Hey, Jimmy!” Edward called out to his nephew.

Jimmy looked up. “Yeah?”

“Tomorrow, how would you like to accompany me on a GHOST TRACKING EXCURSION?!”

Jimmy’s eyes-scratch that, his entire BODY-lit up with joy. “OH MY **GOD**!” he exclaimed. “THAT’S **AWESOME**! YES, YES, **YEEEEES**!”

“Hey, Dad!” Ray shouted with excitement. “Can **I** come, too?!”

Edward stared at his son awkwardly, a sheepish grin on his face. “Um….no. Sorry, son-I just don’t want you getting hurt!”

Ray’s face seemed to melt into a puddle of sadness. “But DAAAAAAAAD!” he whined.

“I’m sorry, Ray,” Edward apologized, feeling bad that he was crushing his son’s dreams. “But it’s just too dangerous!”

“Oh, what-and you’re just gonna let JIMMY run head-first into danger?!” Ray sassed angrily.

“He’s…” Edward paused for a second, thinking about how he was gonna say this. “A little more MATURE than you,”

Ray was about to chime in “But I’M mature!”, but, being the smart boy that he was, realized that there was no point in it, and shut his mouth.

“Besides, it’ll be a perfect uncle-nephew bonding experience! You and I already do SO many things together, Ray,”

Jimmy put his hand on Ray’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, dude,” Jimmy reassured his cousin. “I’ll tell you AAAAALL about it when we get back,”

Ray smiled gratefully at his cousin. “Thanks, dude,” he said.

Jimmy smiled back. “No problem, Ray,”

The two boys smiled at each other for a second before going back to reading.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Ray got up the next morning, Jimmy and his dad had already left. Made sense, as it was past noon. Ray tended to sleep in on weekends.

Ray, bored and with nothing else to do, cracked open _Tobin’s Spirit Guide_ again and started reading.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several hours later, Ray saw his father walk through the door. But this time, something was off.

Number one: Jimmy wasn’t there.

Number two: His father was crying.

And Ray’s father NEVER cried.

Ray ran over to his father, who was panting and had tears streaming down his face.

“Dad?” Ray asked quietly yet somewhat desperately. “What happened?”

Edward opened his mouth, but then began to cry even harder.

“Dad?!” For a second, the worst possible thing that could’ve happened flashed through Ray’s head. But that couldn’t be true. It just COULDN’T be true.

“Ray…” Edward began weakly. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but…”

Edward took a deep breath.

“Jimmy is dead,”

It was true.

It was like everything just stopped. The entire world froze. Nothing was what it had once been. Everything had changed into something horrible.

Ray felt the tears stream down his face. He felt his breathing grow more rapid and sharp. He felt his heart go faster than the speed of light. He felt his muscles grow weak. He felt his brain shutting down, losing control, screaming for help.

“N-” Ray chirped in the quietest and saddest voice possible. “No…” He then felt a small chuckle escape his lips. He then felt another. And another. And another. And another. Soon, he was giggling. Then, he was laughing. “No! No! No! No! No! It’s not true! It’s a joke! It’s just a very **MORBID** joke!” His voice seemed to break and growl on the word “morbid”.

His laughter was out of control now. His father tried to grab his shoulders, but Ray pulled away.

“ **DON’T TOUCH ME**!” Ray growled at his father, now crying and laughing at the same time, all while an angry look spread across his face. “ **YOU’RE A** **MURDERER**!”

Edward was taken aback by Ray’s comment. “Ray!” he said. “You...you don’t think **I** …”

“If it wasn’t for you…” Ray’s voice was quiet now as he was weakly weeping. “And your **STUPID GHOST STUFF** …” His voice was loud and violent again. “ **HE’D STILL BE ALIVE!** ”

Ray stared at his father in the most menacing way possible.

“ **He’d still be FUCKING alive…** ”

The words were cold, crisp, and raw with anger. It scared Edward to see his son like this, acting like a wild animal. He felt more cold tears start to stream down his face. What could be done? His nephew was dead due to HIS decision to bring him along on what he KNEW was a dangerous trip, and now his son was angrily mourning the death of his cousin.

All that was left to do was to pray to God and hold on.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Ray violently cried in his bed. His anger had subsided for now, and now all that was left was sorrow and grief.

“Why, Jimmy?” Ray whimpered softly into his bedsheet. “Why did you have to die?” He sniffed sadly. “We were...we were best friends…”

Suddenly, a blue light started to form in the middle of his room. Ray sniffed and looked up to see what it was.

Within the blue light, something started to form. It looked like...a person. Ray inhaled a short, sharp breath as he saw what-or rather, WHO-it was.

Standing before him…

Was Jimmy.

Tears of joy started to pour down Ray’s face. He leaped up from his bed, not caring if his parents heard him or not, and ran to hug Jimmy. But instead of squeezing his cousin, all that he squeezed was air.

“H-” Ray was shocked. “Huh?”

Ray looked at Jimmy. Wiping the tears away from his eyes, he saw that his cousin was surrounded by a blue aura. But more importantly, he saw that he was transparent.

“Are you…” Ray whispered in disbelief. “Are you a ghost?”

“Yes,” Jimmy said, nodding. “I AM a ghost. And I came to say hi before I go off to heaven,”

“What?” Ray asked. “You mean you don’t go to heaven IMMEDIATELY?!”

“No,” Jimmy replied. “As it turns out, there’s actually a LINE to get up there! And it is LONG!”

The two boys laughed. It was like nothing had changed. Once the laughter ended, Ray sighed and stared at the floor, his smile turning to a sad, quiet frown and his eyes becoming sad and vulnerable. “I wish you hadn’t died,” Ray said quietly.

“Yeah, I know,” Jimmy said, hugging his ghostly arm. “Me, too. But I saw how you reacted today, and...well...I just wanted to tell you that...it’s not your dad’s fault,”

“Of COURSE it is!” Ray exclaimed, the tears welling up in his eyes again and his anger at his father returning. “If he hadn’t taken you out on that STUPID ghost trip, you’d still be alive!”

“Granted, you’re probably right,” Jimmy started. “But other than that, my death wasn’t something your dad could control,” Ray sniffed as his eyes widened at his cousin’s words. “And you shouldn’t resent him for that. In fact, you should be PROUD of him,”

“Proud?” Ray questioned. “Why proud?”

“Because as I was getting weaker and weaker, your dad tried to fight off the ghost, thereby risking HIS life to save mine. And once he had weakened and scared the ghost, it flew off, most likely not wanting to harm anyone ever again. And even BEFORE that, when the ghost was first coming on to me, your dad tried to scare it off, and while that, of course, didn’t work, it was still a very noble thing to do,”

Ray was left in awe at Jimmy’s story. He couldn’t believe what his father had done to try and save Jimmy’s life.

Suddenly, a revelation occurred.

“So what you’re saying is...” Ray began softly, staring at the ground as his mind whirled with realization. “That the whole point of hunting ghosts...is to save lives?”

“Exactly,” Jimmy smiled proudly at his cousin, before moving in to hug him. Ray felt a cold tingle all over his body as the ghost of his dead cousin embraced him, before shutting his eyes and smiling as he enjoyed one last hug from his best friend.

“Goodbye, Ray,” Jimmy said. “See you on the other side one day,” He closed his eyes as he slowly faded away in a shimmer of light.

Ray cried and smiled at the same time. “Bye, dude,” he whispered, before crawling back into bed and falling asleep.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ray had regained his passion for all things ghostly, but now it was for a different reason. He didn’t just pursue it because he idolized his father-he pursued it because he realized that he was saving lives in the process. And now, Ray had a newfound admiration of his father, going out there risking his life every day in order to save innocent people from dangerous supernatural entities.

As Ray got older, he began to study the paranormal, eventually getting a scholarship and going to Columbia University. After he and his friends Peter and Egon got kicked out by the board, they started their own business-the Ghostbusters.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ray, at first glance, appears to be childish and almost naive.

However, he is actually a selfless man who draws his passion for the supernatural from a desire to do what his father couldn't do for Jimmy.

What a tragic yet honorable tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that’s the story of Ray. Really something, eh?
> 
> In case you couldn’t tell, I am 100% bulls*itting my way through the whole “technical” part of Ghostbusters stuff, as I don’t have a CLUE about it. If any of you happen to know a place where I can learn about that sort of thing, please drop a link down below-it’d be much appreciated. I’ll probably update this chapter and write the rest of the chapters in a more detailed manner.
> 
> Also, I REALLY don’t know what I want to do next with this story, so if you have any suggestions for the rest of the guys, sharing them would be GREATLY appreciated. All I know is that I want Peter’s story to be the most tragic. I want my little boi to SUFFER >:)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	2. Egon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did Egon become who he is today? You're about to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn’t as intense as the last chapter, but I think it’s more...how do I put it?...relatable.
> 
> Also, I don’t know anything about mechanics. Sue me.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Jason! Egon!” Maria called out into the garage from the kitchen. “Dinner!”

Jason poked his head out from underneath the car. “A few more minutes, dear-I’m showing Egon something!” he called back to his wife.

“OK! But be quick-it’s hot!”

“Of course, honey!” Jason smiled before going back underneath the car.

“Now, Egon,” Jason began, looking at his 10-year-old son, who was looking right back at him. “I’ve shown you how to do a basic repair of the underside of the car. Do you think you can do it yourself?”

Egon smiled at his father. “Sure!” He took a deep breath, then began.

A few times throughout the endeavor, Jason said things like “You can do it!” or “I believe in you!”, but Egon didn’t respond. It was as if he didn’t hear.

A few minutes later, it was complete.

Jason took a look at Egon’s handiwork. He gave a small yet hearty sigh and said, “Son...you did it,”

Egon beamed with pure joy. “YAY!” he cried. The father and son got out from underneath the car to hug.

“Now...are you hungry?" Jason cried. "‘Cause I know **I** am!”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the dinner table, Egon explained to his mother what he and his father had been doing before dinner.

“I’m so proud of you, sweetie!” Maria smiled at her son. Although she wasn’t a mechanic like her husband-she was, in fact, a secretary-she knew her son was obsessed with her husband’s line of work.

“You should be!” Jason exclaimed with a huge smile. “I’ve seen ADULT MEN with skills that aren’t as fine as Egon’s!”

Egon blushed with pride. He LOVED it when his father complimented him.

And, well, it wasn’t for nothing. Egon was the typical child nerd. His excellent mind was unmatched by anyone else in his school. Heck, he was even smarter than some TEACHERS!

“That reminds me, Egon...” Jason said. “How is your project in your room coming along?”

“It’s going good!” Egon replied, before catching himself. “I mean it’s going WELL. But it’s a secret!”

Jason smiled and nodded at his son. “Alright, then,”

“Well, sweetie…” Maria chimed in. “All I ask is that you’re in bed by 9 o’clock,”

Egon’s eyes suddenly became much more scared. “But MOOOOOOOOOM!” Egon cried. “I get SCARED in my room when it’s dark! What if MONSTERS come out from under my bed and KILL me?!”

Maria smiled comfortingly at her son. “Honey, we’ve been over this. There are absolutely NO monsters hiding under your bed. And even if there were, your father and I are here to protect you. So don’t worry!” She got up and walked over to her son, kissing him on the cheek.

“OK,” Egon agreed quietly. But inside, he was still scared.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Egon sat up awake in his bed, shaking as if it were below freezing. But it wasn’t-he was just very, VERY nervous. He HATED all things supernatural: ghosts, goblins, witches, zombies, vampires, skeletons, warlocks-you name it! Several nights, he could’ve SWORN he’d heard whispering and giggling under his bed. And sometimes, if he stared at his closet hard and long enough, he could see a bright white light coming from underneath the door. But whenever he asked his parents to investigate these places, they’d always find nothing there. But Egon knew that meant nothing. They were just hiding.

Waiting.

Thankfully, Egon was prepared. He’d spent the past few years building various traps and devices meant to stop these creatures from entering his room and terrorizing him. And tonight, his latest creation was ready: a ghost trap.

Egon had no idea WHY he hadn’t thought of a plain ol’ ghost trap before, but that didn’t matter right now. Right now, all that mattered was whether or not it worked.

But Egon was doubtful about that. None of his other devices had worked, so he didn’t have very high hopes for this one. Would it be worth it?

 _Man up, Egon,_ the voice in his head said. _Man up and stop acting like a total BABY._

Egon wanted to cry, but he wasn’t about to let an imaginary voice inside his head ruin his night.

After what seemed like YEARS of shaking in his bed, Egon FINALLY fell asleep.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Egon woke the next morning to the sound of mechanical buzzing and whirring. He sat up and leaned over to look at the side of his bed.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

The ghost trap he had set next to his bed last night had a green light shining on the side of it.

That means he had caught a ghost.

He had ACTUALLY caught a ghost.

Egon jumped out of his bed and went to pick up the trap. It thrashed around in his hand, indicating that there was, indeed, a ghost in there.

Egon, filled with pride, ran out of his room and went to go tell his parents.

From then on, Egon was dedicated to making devices specifically to track, catch, and manage ghosts. His parents, having a hard time believing that ghosts were actually REAL, at first played it off as childlike imagination. But after Egon showed them more and more things that seemed to indicate that ghosts WERE real, they finally had to force themselves to believe.

After this, they were VERY proud of their son, encouraging him to continue pursuing his passion. What nice and supportive parents!

But HOLD ON a second! This story isn’t done just yet…

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 5 years later.

Egon was 15, and now a sophomore in high school.

He had carried his passion for capturing the supernatural all the way into his adolescent years.

He was also still a nerd.

And a big one at that.

He was always hyper-focused on whatever work he was doing, whether it was classwork, homework, or ghost work. That’s a LOT of work.

He was also just generally an introvert, not bothering talking with anyone or making friends.

So, of course, given his nerdy nature, his almost unnatural obsession with the supernatural (insert rimshot here), and his overall antisocial nature, he was (unfortunately) the target of countless bullying.

He was always getting teased, ranging from just being called a “nerd” to actually being punched in the hallway. And while it hurt (both physically and mentally), Egon never really let it affect him. His parents had always told him that people only bullied him because they were jealous or feeling insecure about themselves, and Egon believed that. It made perfect sense to him.

One day, however, was different.

Relax.

It was in the science lab. The teacher had left the class to go to the bathroom, and, for some reason, the ONLY bathroom for staff was all the way on the bottom floor. So it took a bit longer than you’d expect.

The teacher had said they could do what they wanted, as long as it didn’t cause trouble. Egon was working on one of his machines. Suddenly, three tough, rather strong boys approached him.

“Hey, NERD-whatcha doin’?” the boy with messy brown hair and a backward black baseball cap asked.

Egon looked up. “Working on a device that will-hopefully-be strong enough to restrain Class VII free-roaming animator-type spirits,” Egon said very dryly and matter-of-factly, staring directly at the boy who had asked him the question with his trademark deadpan glare.

There was a part of Egon that was hoping to confuse the boy, but mostly he just wanted him to go away so he could continue on with his work.

The boy, however, was unfazed. “Oh, yeah? Well, how would YOU like a Class VII **PUNCH TO THE FACE?!** ” With that, the boy punched Egon, causing him to fall over.

Egon rubbed the space between the forehead and his nose, as that was where the impact had been the hardest. “O-ow…” he muttered under his breath, not wanting to provoke more teasing by showing that he was in pain.

“Heh-what’s the matter, nerd? Can’t handle a little punch?” the boy taunted, staring down at Egon.

“Maybe we should give you ANOTHER one so you’ll get USED to it!” the boy behind him with a pale face said. He proceeded to punch him again. Then the third boy with long blonde hair punched him again. This started a cycle of punching that seemed to go on for DAYS.

Until suddenly, a voice screamed, “ **HEY!** ”

The three boys turned around.

A pretty girl with light blonde hair, a sky blue t-shirt, and a long bright pink skirt stared them down.

“STOP PUNCHING HIM! IT’S NOT NICE!”

The boys were silent for a second before they started chuckling.

The boy with the baseball cap said, “Yeah? And who do you think YOU are, little miss?!”

“Lucy Mulligan,” the girl stated very simply.

That sent a shiver down the boys’ spine. Brett Mulligan, a senior, was the most feared guy in the school. And the boys had a feeling that they knew what Lucy was gonna do if they didn’t stop punching Egon…

Not saying a word out of pure fear, the three boys went back to their seats.

Egon got up, wiping the blood off of his face with the back of his hand. Lucy walked over to him.

“Are you OK?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

“Yeah,” Egon said, dusting himself off. “Thanks for that-it was really sweet of you,”

“No problem,” Lucy replied. “I just can’t STAND bullies!”

“Yeah,” Egon chuckled. “Me, neither,”

“You know…” Lucy said, getting a bit closer to Egon. “You’re kinda cute,”

Egon’s face turned bright red. “Uh…” he giggled awkwardly. “Thanks? I...no one has ever said that to me before,”

“Well, that’s a surprise!” Lucy said. “Because **I** think it’s quite obvious!”

Egon felt like fainting, but he managed to keep it together. “Do, uh…” he stuttered. “Do you wanna come over to my house after school?”

“Sure!” Lucy chirped. “That’d be nice,”

Egon’s heart started racing. “Great! So, uh...meet you by the bus doors at the end of the day?”

“Yep,” Lucy said. “I’ll be there,”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From then on, Egon and Lucy started dating.

Lucy was always so interested in whatever Egon was doing. The first night she was at his house, she went up to his room with him and saw the device he was working on.

“OOOOOH!” she cooed. “What’s THIS?!”

“It’s, uh, a device meant to neutralize Class V spectors,” Egon said awkwardly, a bit embarrassed.

“‘Class V spectors’?” Lucy questioned, tilting her head in confusion. “What does THAT mean?”

Egon blinked in disbelief. “You...you REALLY wanna know?”

“Yeah!” Lucy chirped. “It sounds really interesting,”

From that point on, Egon made it a point to explain whatever he was working on to Lucy. She soaked up all the information, and they would talk about it casually whenever they were together.

But more importantly, Lucy accepted Egon for who he was. She never made fun of him for liking sweets. She never made fun of him for collecting spores, mold, and fungus. She accepted his quirks and embraced his personality. Egon really liked her.

But, sadly, it was not meant to be.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a few months after Lucy and Egon had started dating. Egon was on his way to science class. Even though they shared the same science class, Egon and Lucy were not walking together.

Also walking in the hallway was a pretty and popular girl named Kelly. She had cinnamon-colored skin with a few freckles, bright blonde hair, a pink headband, a light pink t-shirt, a long hot pink skirt, and pink sneakers. As you can tell, she REALLY liked the color pink (and I don’t blame her).

Noticing Egon, she walked over to him. She had been observing him and Lucy ever since they had first started dating.

“Hey there, Egon,” Kelly purred, a seductive look in her eyes.

Egon stared at her awkwardly. “Uh...hi, Kelly,” he said. He tried to walk away, but Kelly stood in front of him.

“How ya doing?” Kelly asked.

“Um...I’m doing fine,” Egon was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable now.

“You look cute today,” Kelly chirped, fluttering her eyelids.

Egon, realizing what Kelly was up to, attempted to leave the conversation. “Um, listen-I have to go to class now,” He began to walk away.

Kelly, not giving up, grabbed Egon by the collar of his shirt, pushed him up against a locker, and kissed him. Egon, clearly uncomfortable, attempted to wiggle free, but Kelly’s grip on him was firm, as was the kiss she was planting on his lips.

Just then, Lucy, turning the corner of the hall to go to class, saw the scene.

“ **EGON!** ” she screamed before running over to him. Both Egon and Kelly stared at her. Kelly, however, let go of Egon.

She walked away, but not without turning around, waving “Bye, Egon!”, and winking.

After Kelly had left, Egon turned back to face Lucy, whose eyes were the angriest he had seen them since the day they met.

“EGON, **WHAT** WERE YOU **DOING?!** ”

“Lucy, look-I can explain…”

“ **NO!** YOU **CAN’T!** AND DON’T EVEN **TRY!** ” Lucy yelled furiously. “I thought you loved me...I thought you cared about me...but it’s clear that’s not the case,”

“Lucy, NO! I DO love you! I just…”

“DON'T **TALK** TO ME!” Lucy slapped Egon across the chest before storming off to class.

Several students had been spectators to the event, and they all stared at Egon.

“Dick move, man,” a tall boy said before walking off.

“Yeah-what a WHORE,” a girl added, before also walking off.

Everyone left the hallway, leaving Egon alone. But at least that meant no one could see him cry.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that, Egon and Lucy were through. Still blind with sadness and rage, Lucy decided to tell everyone in school that she knew that Egon had cheated on her. Because of this, Egon was now the target of even MORE torment than before, with people calling him a “whore”, a “slut”, and a “casanova wannabe”.

Egon cried every night. He couldn’t believe that a simple misunderstanding had cost him the love of his life. And NOW he was being bullied even MORE!

Soon, however, Egon had a revelation: he couldn’t trust anyone. Having dealt with countless bullies, being the target of gutless gossip, and losing his beloved girlfriend to said gossip had made Egon believe/realize that people will only be cruel to him, and that even the ones he thought cared about him will only assume the worst of him in the end.

From then on, Egon avoided people. Even after the gossip died down, he decided not to try and make friends or even talk to anyone. He now focused all of his attention on his work. While he WAS interested in his work, he was also afraid that if he tried to open up to anyone, he'd just be hurt even more.

Egon spent the last two years of high school alone.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There WAS a plus side to this, however-with all interest in building relationships with his peers gone, he could now focus his attention on his grades (which were already excellent before). Egon did so well that he was the only one in his age group to get a scholarship. He went off to Columbia University, ready to spend the next four years alone.

However, as we all know, life can sometimes be surprising.

Sitting outside in the hall of his dorm, Egon was drawing up plans for a new device in his notebook. Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

Looking up, he saw two guys-a guy with messy brown hair and a slightly pudgy guy with more slicked-back hair.

“Hey, there,” the guy with messy brown hair said. “What are you doing out here?”

“Trying to work in peace-my roommate is too loud,” Egon said in his usual matter-of-fact tone.

“Is that so?” the guy responded, before looking at his friend. “Well, sorry to bother you-I’m sure whatever you’re doing is INCREDIBLY important-but we just wanted to ask you something,”

Egon already didn’t like the sarcasm in this guy’s voice. “What is it?”

“Well, we were walking by your room the other day, and we couldn’t help but notice that you seemed to be talking about some device used to catch Class IV free-roaming vaporous entities,”

“Um, Peter? That was Class **V** free-roaming vaporous entities?” the slightly pudgy man corrected.

“Right, right. VERY big difference,” the guy named Peter responded with more sarcasm.

“So...what of it?” Egon replied, clearly not interested in talking to these two. “Are YOU studying ghosts, too?”

“Actually, we are,” the pudgy man said.

Egon looked up fully at the two. “Wait...really?!” he exclaimed, surprised.

“Yes,” Peter said. “The school is giving us funding to run a lab where we conduct tests and experiments,”

“We were wondering if you wanted to join us!” the pudgy man offered. “We could use someone who’s good at building things,”

Egon thought for a second. Finally, he said, “Well, I...I SUPPOSE that would be alright,”

“Great!” the pudgy man exclaimed.

Egon stood up.

“I’m Peter Venkman,” Peter introduced. “And this is Ray Stantz,”

“Egon Spengler,” Egon said, shaking both of their hands.

Ray smiled. “Welcome aboard, Egon,”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From then on, Egon worked with Peter and Ray; however, he didn’t try and open up with them. Still traumatized about what had happened in high school, he simply focused on the work and only discussed things with them when he needed to. It took Peter and Ray QUITE a bit of effort to get Egon to open up even the SLIGHTEST bit to them. But eventually, after MONTHS of trying, Egon started to become more friendly with them. But he still held back QUITE a lot. Even after the three got kicked out of college by the board and started the Ghostbusters, Egon STILL wouldn’t open up much to them. And he STILL hasn’t admitted a lot about himself, afraid that someday, out of nowhere, his friends will turn on him…

Oh, and all those college girlfriends Peter accused Egon of having? He mistook someone else for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t find a place to fit it into the story, but I think it’s important to note that Jason, Egon’s father, randomly starts singing “Maria” from West Side Story to his wife. So yeah.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	3. Winston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winston is the newest member of the Ghostbusters, and he didn't always believe in ghosts, unlike the rest of the guys. But why is that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everybody. I know it’s been WAAAAAAY too long since I last updated this story (or anything on here, for that matter), but I’ve kind of drifted away from the Ghostbusters fandom. However, I’ve decided that from now on, I’m going to finish every single story I’ve ever started. You’ll have enough content to sustain you for WEEKS!
> 
> And since this story has been the biggest thorn in my side that I’ve been trying to ignore, of COURSE the random picker wheel decides I need to update this one first. Hopefully the last chapter won’t take that long once the wheel picks this story again.
> 
> Anyway, enough about me-just enjoy! 😊

“Mom, have you seen my comic book?” Winston called out loudly to his mother (so basically yelling). But the chaos surrounding him made his voice impossible to hear. All around him, children were running and yelling and screaming and fighting and crying and whining and doing basically all of the other verbs that are associated with children.

“WINSTON!” a young girl named Abby whined with fury, having suddenly appeared next to Winston. “MOVE! I’M TRYING TO CATCH MASON!”

“Emphasis on ‘trying’...’cause she’s FAILING!” a young boy on the opposite side of Winston replied sassily, smirking.

“WHY, YOU LITTLE…” Abby attempted to lung at Mason, but Winston held her back.

“LEMME AT ‘EM! **LEMME AT ‘EM!** ”

“Calm down, Abby,” Winston attempted to soothe the girl. “Now, what did Mason do?”

“HE **STOLE** MY FAVORITE T-SHIRT!” Abby was practically foaming at the mouth with rage.

“Again?” Winston replied. He looked up and tried to find Mason amidst the chaos. When his eyes locked on the boy headed for the kitchen, he shouted, “Mason!” When Mason didn’t respond, Winston had no choice but to get the boy himself. He headed for the kitchen.

Mason seemed to know that Winston was after him, as he ducked under the kitchen table. Winston followed him under there.

“Mason,” he started. “Abby told me that you took her favorite t-shirt again. Well? Did you?”

“NO!” Mason denied loudly. “She’s just trying to get me in trouble!”

Winston knew that Mason was lying, but how was he supposed to prove it? Mason was a very adamant young boy-he wouldn’t give up without a fight.

Suddenly, Winston noticed a bulge in Mason’s shorts that he was surprised he hadn’t noticed before. The puzzle pieces clicked.

“Mason?” Winston asked, even though he had all the answers. “What’s that inside of your shorts?”

Mason looked down at where Winston was pointing. “Oh! Nothing! Nothing’s there!” Mason suspiciously denied.

“Really?” Winston inquired in that annoying toying tone that drives you crazy. He reached for the bulge. Mason tried to push Winston’s arm away, but Winston was stronger than him in every way, so his efforts proved fruitless. Eventually, Winston reached into Mason’s shorts and pulled out just what he had expected to be there: a pink t-shirt with a green flower on it.

“Mason,” The cloying toying tone was back, and all Mason could do was pout with a huff of his breath.

“Fine,” Mason had now been presented with irrefutable evidence, so he had to fess up. “But that shirt doesn’t even fit her anymore, anyway!”

“Oh, I think it does,” Winston smiled mischievously. “I think YOU just like to steal things...and annoy your sister,” He took Mason’s hand and pulled him out from underneath the table. “Now, how about you go give this back to Abby and apologize?”

Mason, still salty, just grabbed the shirt from Winston’s hand and walked back to the living room, doing that little walk children do when they’re angry, clenched fists and all. From a distance, Winston could see Mason hand Abby back her shirt, but he couldn’t hear (what he hoped was) his apology over all the children.

Suddenly, Winston felt someone tap his hip. Looking down, he saw the sweet, innocent face of Nina, one of his youngest siblings at 5. She was also probably the shyest.

“Winston?” she asked in her cute whisper of a voice. “What do you think of my drawing?” She held out a piece of paper.

Winston took it. Nina had drawn the whole Zeddemore family-at least, she’d attempted to. In reality, it looked more like a page for testing crayons than an actual attempt to communicate something artistically. Still, Winston had to say something positive.

“Wow!” he exclaimed with the type of feigned excitement you’d expect from a parent, not a 15-year-old. “Great job, Nina! I can tell you put a lot of effort into it! I’ll treasure it forever,” And he would, gosh darn it. Nina was so shy, but art was what brought her confidence and a smile. The last thing she needed was someone to tell her her art was bad.

Nina’s little angel face lit up with the purest of happiness. “Thanks, Winston!” she said. “You’re the best big brother EVER!” She gave him a tight squeeze around his legs, and Winston squeezed her right back. After a few seconds, Nina let go and went back into the living room.

This was the daily life of Winston Zeddemore. After all, he was the oldest of nine children. Nine! As was usually the case in such large families, Winston had become the third parent of the household, keeping his siblings in check while his overworked parents attempted to pay the bills.

Speaking of his parents, Charlize and Albert Zeddemore came down the stairs. As Winston approached them, hoping to ask about his missing comic book, he stopped as he noticed how dolled up his mother was. She wore a long, smooth white dress with a matching flapper hat and black high heels. Around her neck was a luxurious string of pearls. His father didn’t look half bad, either, wearing a sharp black suit with a pink tie.

“Wow, Mom!” Winston exclaimed, genuinely surprised. “You look beautiful!”

Charlize smiled. “Thank you, Winston. Your father is taking me to dinner and a movie tonight, and I wanted to look my best,”

“Yes, for the moviegoers,” Albert chimed in with a playful smile. “They’ll be watching you instead of the screen!” His tone indicated he was only teasing.

Charlize looked at her husband, playing along with the teasing. “Oh, Albert, enough! Can’t you let me get all dressed up one night of my life?”

“Now, sweetheart, you know I’m just joking,” Albert smiled.

“Well, dear, sometimes I don’t know if you are,” Charlize concluded the quick husband-and-wife teasing session. “Now, Winston, do you think you’ll be OK watching your siblings while we’re out?”

Winston nodded. “Yes, Mom,” he said. “I’ll be fine,”

“Good,” Charlize answered back, planting a kiss on her son’s head. This led to the rest of her children crowding around her, demanding kisses and hugs. Charlize, being a loving, kind mother, hugged and kissed every last child she had.

“Just remember, Winston, that everyone has to do their homework and go to bed at 9 o’clock SHARP. We’ll be back around 10:30. OK?”

“OK, Mom,” Winston replied.

“Well, then, it’s time we head off to the restaurant. Goodbye, everyone!”

“Goodbye!” everyone called out, waving their parents off as they walked out the door.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 11 o’clock. Winston was sitting on the living room couch watching TV. He was starting to fall asleep when suddenly, he heard police sirens outside. Looking out the window, he saw that the police were in front of his house. Before long, they were knocking on his door.

Winston opened the door. “Hello, officer. What is it?”

The officer looked at him. “Hello there. You live here, right?”

“Yes,” Winston replied.

“Are you the oldest one in this household?”

“Yes,”

“Well…” The officer stopped for a moment, as if he was thinking about what he was going to say. “There was a car crash over at the intersection downtown. A couple was hit by a truck while driving through the green light. We believe the driver might’ve been intoxicated,”

Winston continued to listen, curious as to how this applied to him. “Well, when we searched the couple, we found their wallets, which contained their driver’s licenses. We’ve looked through our system and...well…” The officer paused. “Is your last name Zeddemore?”

“Yes,” Winston replied.

The officer looked incredibly sad. “Kid...I’m sorry, but...those were your parents who died in that crash,”

_No._

_It can’t be._

_He’s lying._

Winston’s pupils had shrunk in total disbelief. He was staring at the ground, his mouth agape. The officer, knowing what was probably running through his mind, approached him.

“I’m really sorry, kid…” The officer attempted to put a hand on Winston’s shoulders, but Winston moved out of reach. The officer, his hand still out, stood there for a second as Winston ran back into the house. Turning, he went back to his vehicle.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, when everyone had woken up, they noticed that their mother and father weren’t present. Winston, meanwhile, was trying to figure out what he was gonna say. Suddenly, his siblings were crowding around him, filling the air with overlapping questions and chatter.

“Everyone be quiet!” Winston half-yelled. Winston rarely raised his voice-he was generally a level-headed fellow-so this shocked his siblings into silence. Now he’d HAVE to say something or he’d lose their attention.

“I...look, guys. Something...something bad happened last night,”

“What does THAT mean?” 9-year-old Keisha piped up, Winston’s vague statement not clarifying anything for her.

“Yeah, and where are Mommy and Daddy?” Abby added.

Oh, shit. That was the one question he’d hoped they wouldn’t ask. Now what?

“Well, they’re, uh…” Winston sighed. Sometimes the best way to break bad news to someone is to be blunt, and this was one of those times, even if it would be incredibly painful to do so. “Guys, Mommy and Daddy are...dead,”

A mixture of gasps, looks at each other, and silence made up Winston’s siblings’ reaction to that statement.

“D-dead?” little Nina cried, tears welling in her angel eyes. It broke Winston’s heart to see her tears as much as it broke Nina’s heart to learn that her parents were dead.

“So...they’re gone?” Mason said. “And we’re never gonna see them again?”

As much of a troublemaker Mason was, he was a genuinely smart kid, and oftentimes was the one to tell it like it is when Winston wasn’t around.

“No, Mason,” Winston replied softly, attempting to push the buildup of salty water back into his eyes. “We won’t,”

And with that, the waterworks burst. The collective Zeddemore offspring wept and wept and wept over the loss of their beloved parents. Although Winston had had a good cry the night before, the hole in his heart was too big and sorrowful for him not to cry again.

The rest of that gloomy Sunday was filled with nothing but tears and mourning.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the loss of their parents, the Zeddemore children were taken into the foster care system. Since, unfortunately (yet understandably), no other family members were willing to take in nine children, the children were now up for adoption. Of course, the same issue that had been present with the family members was present with anyone who was looking to adopt-the thought of adopting NINE children, especially if the possible parent(s) already HAD a child (or children), was extremely overwhelming. So instead of keeping the whole Zeddemore family together, adopting parents slowly started breaking it apart. Sometimes two or more of the kids would be adopted by one family, but most of the time, they took only one. No matter what the situation was, the child (or children) in question always began crying when they learned they would be separated from their siblings, even the tougher ones like Mason or Abby. Winston always told them the same thing.

“Hey. I’m gonna miss you. Hopefully we’ll see each other again, somehow, but even if we don’t, know that I’ll always love you. Always. That won’t change EVER. And also know that I wish you the best in whatever you choose to do, and that I hope you’ll be able to make the best out of the life that God’s handed to you. And be nice to your new parents-they’ve given you a new chance, a new opportunity. Use it. Don’t let it go. I love you so much. Go knock ‘em dead,”

He always ended the little speech with the biggest hug and kiss. He knew he wasn’t saying enough, but he hoped it would at least make the sibling(s) feel better at that moment. He had no idea what would happen to them, but he prayed to God every single night that they would succeed and thrive like he knew they could.

Especially little Nina. Her goodbye was the hardest. Winston didn’t like to admit it to himself, but Nina was sort of his favorite sibling. She just could do no wrong in his eyes. Before she left, she gave him a drawing of the two of them together. Winston’s heart shattered.

Eventually, eight of the Zeddemore kids had been adopted, leaving only Winston, too old for anyone to consider adopting, and too old for the foster care system itself.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But that wasn’t going to stop Winston. He was going to make something out of himself, no matter how long it took. He would do his parents right.

Winston was a strong young man, and, living in New York City, a construction worker seemed like a good fit for him. So he rented an apartment and landed a job.

Thus began the pursuit of Winston’s ultimate goal: buying a house.

The work wasn’t easy, and Winston sometimes went weeks without getting a call for a job. But Winston wasn’t going to quit. Even if it took decades, even if he was old and gray, he was going to buy that house.

Thankfully, due to how friendly he was, Winston made many friends while working, and once they were informed of his situation, they decided to help. And help they did, as within a few months, Winston had finally earned enough to buy a decent-looking house. It wasn’t the prettiest one, but it was his, and he was going to treasure it.

Now that he had a house, Winston felt as though he needed to find a better paying job to keep up with the cost of managing it. So he looked through the “Help Wanted” section, sifting through listing after listing after gray, dull listing.

Suddenly, a name jumped out at him.

Ghostbusters.

Hmm...what could that be? He had no choice but to find out.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The headquarters was relatively easy to find, and soon enough, Winston was standing in front of the building. The place looked like a repurposed firehouse.

He approached the front desk. A dreary-looking woman with short hair and glasses was sitting there. Looking up at him, she said, “How may I help you?”

“Hi,” Winston replied politely. “My name is Winston Zeddemore, and I’m here to apply for a job,” He motioned to the newspaper ad he had in his hand.

“Oh. OK. Would you please have a seat in that chair right there?” The woman pointed at said chair, and Winston proceeded to sit.

Looking at a paper in front of her, the woman recited, “Do you believe in UFOs, astral projection, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trans-mediums, the Loch Ness monster, and the theory of Atlantis?”

Winston was...confused, to say the least. But he had to play along if he had a shot at getting this job.

“If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say,” he replied. And, well, he wasn’t lying.

Suddenly, two men entered, looking rather tired.

“Boy, I’ve gotta get some sleep,” the first one said, his eyes certainly proving it. “I’m dying,”

“You don’t look good,” the second one added rather dryly.

“I don’t?” the first one asked.

“You’ve looked better,” the second one responded. “You didn't used to look like this,” He turned to the woman at the desk. “Here's the paper for the woman out in Brooklyn. She paid with Visa,”

The woman took the paper and handed the man one. “Here’s tonight’s worksheet,”

“Great!” the first man piped up. “Two more free repeaters,”

The woman motioned towards Winston. “This is Winston Zeddemore. He's here about the job,”

The first man walked over to Winston and shook his hand. “Beautiful. You're hired. Ray Stantz,” He motioned to the other man. “Pete Venkman. Congratulations. Can you help me, please?” He handed Winston some odd-looking devices. “Welcome aboard!”

Winston, though still baffled by the speed at which all of this had happened, had no choice but to comply.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so Winston began working for the Ghostbusters. Turns out the name was not an exaggeration of any kind. Not too long after he was hired, he helped the guys defeat an evil ancient Sumerian god called Gozer. Though he had little to no idea what he was doing, it was still pretty fun. So he continued to work there.

Winston’s practical, down-to-earth nature comes from the fact that nothing was ever handed to him as a kid-he was forced to work for everything. So you can see why he never believed in ghosts until he met Peter, Ray, and Egon.

And yes-he DID see his siblings again. There were tears everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I don’t know what to think about this chapter. I tried my best, but most of the plot points are communicated via narration. Still, I hope that doesn’t bother you too much-YOU FINALLY GOT A CHAPTER!
> 
> Also, I did a little bit of research on the foster care system to write this chapter, but I am by no means an expert on the subject, so I apologize if I fudged up some aspect of the system. Feel free to correct me in the comments!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	4. Peter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally, we have Peter Venkman. What's HE hiding?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I originally wrote a really bad chapter just so I could be done with this story, but I just couldn't justify working on anything else until that chapter got revised. So let me just apologize to anyone who had to read that god awful chapter (even though it wasn't up for that long), and enjoy this revised version! 😊

Coming home from school was always the worst part of 14-year-old Peter Venkman’s day.

And not because he liked school.

He didn’t like school.

But at least he knew school was SAFE.

At least he knew that he wouldn’t get HURT or possibly DIE at school.

But at home?

It was a COMPLETELY different story.

First off, he usually came home to an empty house.

Good.

It was free of danger that way.

So he would typically venture upstairs to his room or, if he was feeling a bit more adventurous, hang out downstairs in the living room or the kitchen for a little bit.

And for about an hour, nothing was wrong.

That particular day, Peter was in the living room. When he heard the front door opening, his heart started going a mile a minute, and he tried his best to run up to his room without arousing suspicion.

But it was too late.

His arm was grabbed and his head was slammed against the wall. This nearly knocked him out, but somehow, he remained conscious.

He didn’t have to look up-he knew who it was. But he did anyway.

It was his father, Peter Venkman, Sr., full of alcohol and white-hot anger.

Next thing Peter knew, a baseball bat had clocked him in the face, covering him in blood and giving him a broken nose.

Even though he knew fighting back was no use and would just make his situation worse, he attempted to punch his father in the gut, but he was blocked and ended up tumbling over, the wind being knocked out of him. He had almost no energy left in him, but he couldn’t give up. After all, if he didn’t do anything, his father would just move on to his mother Cheryl.

And he’d rather let himself get hurt than let her get hurt.

So he sat there for a good twenty minutes, only fighting back mildly. Afterward, he felt as though he was going to die, but that was what happened every day.

That night, beaten, hungry, and sobbing (which described his situation every night), Peter tried to take his mind off the noises he heard coming from his parents’ bedroom. It didn’t sound like his mother.

For the sake of not wanting to traumatize any of you, you’re gonna have to figure this one out for yourselves.

But to make a long story short, I’d say that Peter’s horniness for women was a trait he inherited from his father.

We clear on that? OK, then.

Sadly, this was Peter Venkman’s constant-an alcoholic father with anger issues, a mother that had the life beaten out of her on a daily basis, and a painful night every night.

But Peter Venkman also had a plan.

Once he graduated from high school, he would find a way out of this hell he was living in.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You see, Peter was only 16. But he knew that by the time he turned 18, he would be graduating high school. This would allow him to either enter college or get a job. Both options meant different paths, but also meant a path away from the torture of his father.

So Peter was willing to put up with the constant abuse because he knew he would have a way out. And once he inevitably did leave, his father would be too mentally unstable to care.

Finally, the big day came. Peter was officially out of high school. His plan was now ready to be put into action.

As he stood on the platform to get his diploma, he looked pretty calm. He had gotten pretty good at looking like that. But his insides were shaking profusely. He was finally out. He was finally able to leave his hell of a home. He was finally going somewhere.

And when his diploma was handed to him, he felt as though he had been handed a new chance at life.

And it was the best feeling in the world.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he left the school building, he met up with Gary, one of his best friends.

“Thanks again for helping me out, man,” Peter said in that casual manner of his, which was surprising considering how much he had been through his whole life. Then again, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense...anyway.

“No problem,” Gary responded. “But just so you know, my parents aren’t comfortable with keeping you around permanently, so you’re gonna have to either get into a college or find a job,”

“I can manage that,” Peter stated dryly. “I think college is where I’m headed,”

“You’ve always seemed like a college guy,” Gary said. So thus, Peter’s quest to get into college began.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter never thought he’d end up getting into any colleges, as while he never did badly in school, he didn’t really think his grades were all that impressive, either. But somehow, by pure chance, out of all the colleges he sent out applications to, the one he had been hoping to get into the most sent him an acceptance letter.

Peter Venkman, Jr. was now a student at Columbia University.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a few days into the school year. Peter, sitting in his dorm, suddenly heard a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he said.

The door opened, and a slightly pudgy man walked in.

“Uh, hi,” he began. “I was just wondering-do you have a screwdriver I could borrow?”

“I think so,” Peter responded. Looking through a few of his drivers, he found it and handed it to the man.

“Thanks,” the man said.

“You’re welcome,” Peter replied. “Hey, excuse me for being nosy, but what exactly do you need a screwdriver for?”

A certain look flashed in the man’s eyes, as if he had been waiting for someone to ask him this question. “Oh! Well, see, I’ve been funded by the university to conduct research on supernatural phenomena. Actually, now that I think about it, I believe I could use an extra set of hands. What say we team up?”

Peter didn’t know squat about ghosts. But he didn’t have anything better to do, and he had to admit that he was a little bit interested, so he accepted. “Sure,”

“Nice!” The man shook Peter’s hand. “Ray Stantz,”

“Peter Venkman,”

“Welcome aboard,”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And with that, Peter and Ray started working together. Peter was a little bit shy first, but after Ray taught him a few things, he began to feel more comfortable. Soon, he was openly helping Ray with all sorts of things. And it wasn’t long before they found a new member named Egon Spengler, got kicked out of the school by the board, and started their own business called the Ghostbusters.

You see, it seems as though Peter’s flirtatious nature is either creepy or insincere...or both. But in reality, it’s all a socially awkward man’s attempt to get the affection he never had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the end of this story. Honestly, I'm still not sure I like this new chapter, but I'm fine with it. Maybe it'll get another revision in the future (edit: it did-enjoy!), but for now, "Blast to the Past" is officially my first finished story. Hooray-I CAN do it, after all! 🥳
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


End file.
